"Evening, Captain," the bartender greeted.
Cardin raised his head from his cemetery of empty liquor bottles.
"Evening, Rhys," reciprocated Jaune as he saddled up to the bar.
"The usual?"
He nodded and Rhys turned around to conjure up the Captain's favorite (and only) drink in the mixer. Jaune met Cardin's expectant smirk. "Shouldn't you be on patrol?"
"Shouldn't you be working?" the mercenary snarked amusedly.
He snorted. "I need a break."
"Anything new from the grapevine?"
"You don't have the clearance."
"Not about Command." The mace-wielder shifted on his tool to face him completely, his mirth replaced by a serious mien. "You've been walking around the base. Around the dorms."
The officer chuckled dryly. "Have I been that obvious?"
"You've been heading up to Ozpin's office a lot lately. I guess it ain't because of the view."
A nod. "Had to get some things out of my system."
"This place brings back memories that even I can't handle when I'm sober," Cardin admitted.
"That makes the two of us," Jaune huffed.
"Three, if you count Red."
"Yeah but Ruby doesn't drink a lot."
"Like we do."
The glass came down a little harder on the varnished wood. "I've been thinking about her again. Couldn't get her out of my head."
Cardin nodded sagely.
Jaune continued, his third bottle of the night already half-way empty. "Every corner, every room, every block on this...campus... It just... It just brings her back to me. In a way that I can't even...control. It's out of my hands. And I don't like it. I thought I was over it. But...you know how things just start crashing down on you... You think you've put it behind you but it actually builds up and something comes along that triggers the landslide."
The mercenary downed another shot, seemingly unfazed by the amount of alcohol in his system. He gestured for his superior to continue.
"She kissed me, you know?" The Captain pressed a finger to his lips. "She kissed me right here. And then it hit me. It damn hit me in the end." His head dipped back onto the bar. "When it all wouldn't matter, anyway."
"You got Red."
A scoff. A bitter—or was it sarcastic?—scoff. "Not going in that direction, Sergeant."
"She looks like her. Fights like her. Except she's not a total redhead."
Jaune glared at him. "She's my liaison and friend. I'd rather die than—"
Cardin waved him off. "Enough with the damn spiel, Arc. We all know it." He leaned over to the now slouched knight. "What we all want to know is when you're going to put a ring on it."
"Like hell, Winchester," the Captain sneered. He pushed himself off the bar, almost losing his footing while straightening himself. "We got a job to do. Can't let ourselves be distracted."
"Speak for yourself," the mace-wielder countered. "You're already distracted." His tone hardened despite leaning haphazardly on his stool. "You'll turn into a liability if you keep up with this. And I'm a regular."
"I already know that. That's why I drink only when you're around."
Cardin allowed a brief prideful smile as he stood from his stool, handed Rhys some lien cards to cover both their tabs, and slung his arm over Jaune's shoulder while they walked back to the barracks. "You owe me, Arc."
"Remind me to pay you back," Jaune grumbled as he let himself be dragged across the base. He could care less what time it was. Protocol be damned, it had been a rough two months. How long were they supposed to stay here? How much longer until Winter would finally realize that there are other places that were far more strategically valuable than Beacon?
"How much is he drinking every night?" Ruby interrogated.
Rhys, nervous as he was, kept his composure superbly and continued cleaning the glasses before hanging them back up on the racks. "Three to four bottles on average."
"You need to talk to him," Cardin interjected.
The Lieutenant circled on her stool to glare at the recent arrival. "A little too early to be intoxicated?"
"Speak for yourself," riposted the mercenary, his eyes rolling at her near empty Strawberry Sunrise.
"This is my first and last drink of the week," she answered evenly.
"Rhys, I'll give you fifty lien if you tell me how much she's been drinking every week."
"Sergeant," Ruby hissed. "You should be helping the Captain manage his intake. You are, after all, his 'drinking buddy.'"
"I can't do it alone, you know. That's why you should talk to him." He cut her off before she could retort, the tone in his voice changing. "Seriously, Red. He's been going down memory lane. It ain't easy putting the past behind us but his is biting him hard in the ass and it shows."
Ruby glowered but found herself unable to retort. Her fingers laced around the foot of her glass, a nervous tic that went unnoticed.
"Do this as a favor for the whole RDF. If he loses himself completely, then this whole garrison is going to fall apart. You and I know that."
"I...can't."
Cardin sighed. He glanced back at Rhys, who shrugged, and shook his head. "Come on, Red. I got my own problems to deal with. Cut me some slack, would you."
The Specialist rubbed her temples. "I told you. I can't." She downed the rest of her drink before giving him a fierce, if not pained, glare. "I saw how Pyrrha died. I was there. And you think I should tell Jaune to get over it?"
The mercenary studied her. Her silver irises watered. "Yes."
Ruby felt her breath leave her. She shut her eyes, shielding away the memories. They had been through this before. Why was this so difficult? What made it so hard to get over the past? Was it because of Beacon? Was it because of this place? Was it because of all the relics of their history that had been unearthed from the rubble? "Just...leave me alone. Please."
It came out as a plea. A strained squeak from a small voice that got caught in her throat. Cardin immediately understood. "Fine."
The mercenary took his glass and left for a table on the far end of the cafeteria, leaving Rhys to deal with (or try to ignore) a sobbing Lieutenant Ruby Rose.
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: April 3, 2018
LAST EDITED: May 8, 2018
INITIALLY UPLOADED: April 13, 2018